Journeys by hiking, running, cycling and touring
My dehydrator, an Andrew James model, is marketed primarily as a tool for dehydrating fruit and vegetables and making a bit of jerky. It's not explicitly promoted as a device for dehydrating wet food into backpacking meals. Nevertheless, before buying I'd seen that someone in one of the Facebook groups had successfully used one for … Continue reading Tales from the Dehydrator: No. 3 Beans, Apples, Raspberries & Blueberries
The dehydrator is washed and ready for action again, and having crafted this week's menu specifically to generate a meal for dehydration, it's time to get on with it. Today it's Beef in Red Wine, a sort of poor man's Boeuf Bourguignon. This is just the sort of meal I like to eat cowering from … Continue reading Tales from the Dehydrator: No. 2 Beef in Red Wine with Mash
It may seem odd to plunge straight in and attempt a whole meal rather than just drying out some fruit or whatnot, but there are good reasons for doing so. Firstly Chilli is the one meal I've found is consistently good across all brands of commerically dehydrated backpacking food I've tried. The dry product breaks … Continue reading Tales from the Dehydrator: No.1 Chilli
“Many thanks for your application for the 38th Great Outdoors Challenge. We are delighted to inform you that you have a place on the 2017 Event,” appeared at the start of an email I, and over 300 others, received one day in early November. It threw me into an immediate panic. I'd half expected for my … Continue reading The Start of Something…
Cath was safely dumped at Exeter St Davids, Jim was heading home, and Paul and I had a camp planned. The mission was twofold: a camp at a favourite tor, and a return to pick off a rock formation that eluded me last time I was in the area. We parked up and made our … Continue reading Another New Year on Dartmoor – Part 5: A Night at a Favourite Tor
The group had by now broken up, Paul and Jim heading north to Paul's house, Phil and Sarah heading home to the Far North and the arctic wastes of Bristol. Cath too was heading home, but as her chauffeur I proposed a walk that would fit in with the run to Exeter. We headed off … Continue reading Another New Year on Dartmoor – Part 4: Blackslade Down
The New Year started with a massive dilemma - with the Fox Tor Cafe not opening until 11, it was pushing it to have a proper breakfast and get a walk in. Neatly solved by Phil and Sarah providing bacon sandwiches. General lethargy, though, meant it was still after midday that we finally got going … Continue reading Another New Year on Dartmoor – Part 3: Familiar Ground
No day's walking on Dartmoor is complete without a visit to the Fox Tor Cafe, and especially so when you're staying next door. Being on winter opening hours, it didn't open until 10am and Cath and I were first in the queue at the front door for when it opened. Looking through the window we … Continue reading Another New Year on Dartmoor – Part 2: The Far West
The New Year walking trip has now been going since the 2013/14 trip to the Lakes (so the rule says it's now a tradition), but after that first midwinter foray north, each one has seen me head to Dartmoor. The combination of socialising and easy walks whatever the weather seems to fit the festive lethargy … Continue reading Another New Year on Dartmoor – Part 1: Butterdon Hill and Uppacott Down
I had an email today from the marketing department at Trespass telling me I've been shortlisted in the Hiking/Walking of their 2016 Blog Awards. Now I know some people can be a bit scathing about these things, and the chances of me winning are slim anyway - whenever I've been nominated before for something like … Continue reading Recognition
Stood at the sink washing up one night in September last year, it suddenly occurred to me to add up the number of camps both I and my daughter, Rebecca, had done so far that year (I think of a lot of odd stuff like that while washing up). I realised with all of the … Continue reading The Great Camping Challenge 2016
I was having a sort out the other day and came across some interesting bits of paper... Somehow I've managed to keep hold of the walk directions from two annual sponsored walks I did when I was at school. They're around 30 years old. Just for fun I thought it would be interesting to try … Continue reading Resurrecting Some Old Walks
After a couple of weeks in which preparing for and holding my first art show proved to be pretty much all-consuming, I was keen to get out into the landscape again, and to do so before winter started to rear its ugly head. By which I mean not the winter of crisp days on snow-covered … Continue reading Above the Clouds
I've already told the story of the actual walk, but also wanted to wrap up some comments on the planning for the trip and some general thoughts on the walk and route themselves. So here goes... Firstly, my account of the walk (I'll add Paul's in due course when and if he gets around to … Continue reading A Different Coast to Coast – Devon
Ivybridge to Wembury: 15 miles, 1 day The half day did us both good in topping up the tanks ready for the final stretch of the walk. I don't think either of us had particularly high hopes for this final day's walk, but personally I can pretty much steel myself for anything with the knowledge … Continue reading A Different Coast to Coast – Part 4: The Bottom Bit